Making a Million With 1000 True Fans: Get a Life With Automation and Delegation
Crystal posted this on April 29, 2008
This series starts with an introduction to the 1000 True Fans concept and solopreneur Alexandria Brown. The first part demonstrates the hundreds of thousands of dollars that can come from a handful of manageable online income streams. The second part highlights three keys to attractive big-ticket VIP memberships and events and finds us exceeding our $1,000,000 goal with only 441 True Fans.
You may want to read these earlier posts for context on today’s topic. And nope, this is not a sponsored case study.
If you’ve been doubting that Ali could possibly do all this by herself, you’re right. There aren’t enough hours in a single day for one person to keep this multi-million dollar machine running and still have a life. And while her business does require outside help, it doesn’t require leased office space and a squad of employees. Believe it or not, Ali manages her $2 million/year business from her home in California with select online services and a small crew of virtual assistants.
Set the autopilot
The elegance of online transactions is the hands-off quality. Allowing technology to handle the repetitive, predictable tasks that it was designed to do frees us for what we are designed to do—imagine, strategize, and create.
Ali can focus on writing the content for her weekly newsletter because maintenance of her 22,000 28,000+ subscriber list is managed by an email server application. Her digital products (eBooks and teleseminars) are immediately available for download due to a robust and feature-rich shopping cart that manages the digital delivery while she develops more money-making products.
Instead of monitoring her email account for new subscribers and sales, she’s off at the gym, on a beach in Hawaii, busy creating at her desk, not drowning in an endless stream of time-consuming hands-on transactions.
What business functions can you hand off to technology?
And that creative time is critical: Ali’s products are extensive and I expect it takes hundreds of (wo)manhours to produce the content, create the virtual packaging, and develop the sales letters. But there’s little or no maintenance after that initial time investment. No continuous fulfillment horrors of handling payments, printing receipts, packing boxes, adding postage, and postal pick-up—and none of the related expenses, either.
Another type of automation I observed is how Ali “automatically” creates new products by repurposing content. Her Online Success Blueprint Workshop in a Box is an admitted repackage of the content from her live-event workshop. From her sales pages, I estimated her 2007 workshop event yielded $569,430 in ticket fees, and the same content repackaged as a kit pulled in an additional $220,059.
Don’t get it twisted…pulling together the kit wasn’t automatic. At all. Creating 147 kits of CDs and worksheets and notebooks and whatnot was surely a mighty task. But the kits’ content was automatically created in the development and presentation of the workshop. Delivering the Online Success Blueprint Workshop in a Box requires fulfillment steps avoided with the digital products, but burning CDs and licking stamps is well worth an additional $220K+ from content you already have on hand, yes?
And hey, it’s not like Ali’s doing the production or fulfillment work herself anyway. She’s touted the value of using a virtual assistant for years, and I recall hearing in a teleseminar that she contracts three VAs to keep things running smoothly.
Hand it over
It’s important to note that Ali contracts her help, she doesn’t employ, and therefore deftly avoids the Human Resources Hell of benefits and taxes. Instead, she hires virtual assistants (VAs)—independently contracted administrative assistants who work from their own home offices.
Ali has written numerous articles on the topic of delegation, and if she walks like she talks, I expect she hasn’t touched a single bit of administrative work in years. I feel sure her VAs manage the mail order fulfillment we just talked about, as well as customer service, scheduling, assembling and sending off the weekly email newsletter, answering phones, and the other 3,247 mission-critical tasks that support every business—online or offline. Anything that someone else can do is done by someone else.
Like any executive, Ali’s not handing off these tasks to others because they’re not important. In fact, these tasks are too important—and too numerous—for anything but a specialist with a singular focus. Like any executive, she needs dependable, detail-oriented assistance with the day-to-day operations so she can work with the big picture.
And that likely includes all of her housework, grocery shopping, cooking, and errands. I remember Ali mentioning hiring someone to go to the cleaners for her, in a teleseminar years ago. I thought then, like now, on how much time I spent managing all the critical necessities of my life that someone else could do. It was a lot.
What tasks could you give away?
What would you do with that recovered time?
How I’m going to automate
Starting without a bean, I don’t have cash to pay myself, so I’ll need to manage my own administrivia for a time, but there are plenty of free and affordable online tools to automate my budding plan. As I see it right now, I’ll get along fine with old friends like PayPal for payment processing and iContact for email newsletters, and new (to me) services like E-Junkie’s way-more-than-a-shopping-cart shopping cart.
And when it’s time to give tasks away, things like accounting surely belong in the hands of professionals. For household tasks, the first—and maybe only—task I would give away is cleaning our apartment. It’s a small space, and I’m a lamer for even thinking of paying someone else to clean it, but seriously? 
What else—and what more—could you do this year
if you didn’t do the tasks that others could do?
Next in series » Wrap-up: Between the Lines
Tagged with: 1000 True Fans · entrepreneur · solopreneur
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15 Responses to “Making a Million With 1000 True Fans: Get a Life With Automation and Delegation”
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Confirmation for what most already know, virtual is definitely the way to go. For solopreneurs and also for larger businesses.
We have revenue into 7 figures but I still use virtual resources. I use creative resources all over the US. My interactive producer is in LA and the production team is in China. IM, email, conference calls, WebEx, resources like those provided by 37 Signals, all help manage disparate business partners.
The goal is to have the best / most appropriate resource work on execution so you can focus on the primary value proposition.
This is a great series.
Recent blog post from James Hipkin: Really Bad Ads #2 - Don’t Let Your Strategy Show
I could definately get a whole LOT more done if I was handing things off to others.
The real key is finding the RIGHT others. I’ve had serious issues handing things off to others only to get shot in the foot because of it. And I’ll admit,t hats my fault for not doing complete due diligence.
I have had some wonderful successes just in the last two months with outsourcing and contracting - enough so that I’m really really liking it
Crystal,
Once again, another great post to add another piece to the puzzle. You’re certainly not a lamer for paying someone to clean your place.
That’s the best decision we ever made, as it is one less thing to worry about on weekends for us.
As I progress along my path, I’ll be outsourcing more and more.
If I can pay someone to do something at a rate that is 50 percent or less of my personal “hourly rate”, then I’ll do it.
Thanks again for the words.
-Brett
Recent blog post from Brett Legree: my hero.
Crystal,
We all need a little more automation and delegation in our lives. I do enjoy getting my hands into everything, but…. Whenever I’ve had too many midnights in a month, I know it’s time to let go of a few “little” things. It’s so true, when someone specializes in the little stuff, they do a much better job than you can when it’s low on your priority list.
Regards,
Kelly
Recent blog post from Kelly: Inspiration Points: With Laser-like Focus, He Went the Wrong Way…
I’m enjoying this True Fan series Crystal.
I’m with Brett on paying someone else for housecleaning. Our personal energy level is a limited resource, so why not focus it towards really productive efforts to get you where you want to be and delegate the other tasks.
I love your attitude in the “How I’m going to automate” section. You refuse to limit yourself with excuses and instead look for ways that you can do it now. You’ll be unstoppable with that mindset.
Recent blog post from sterling | bizlift: Magento - Revolutionary eCommerce for Small Biz
There are other things I’m a big believer in as well. Twice a year, I get our cars detailed. Well worth it - in fall to get new wax on, in spring to get the salt and dirt off.
Hi James!
I hadn’t thought about any of this for larger businesses, and what a good example your business is! Y’all are spread out internationally but stay well connected with some cool online tools.
My focus is always so small, it’s excellent to hear that tools I could (and do) use now as a solopreneur could (and would) grow with me if I wound up bigger than expected.
7 figures, huh? I aspire!
And thanks much for the encouraging kudos
@Shawn re: finding the right others
Yeahhh, I can see where that would be difficult, no matter what your field or niche. Like James mentioned, at least we’re not limited by geography when it comes to filling some roles. It sounds like you’ve got it working out now, and I’m tickled for you
A little selfishly, maybe, since it gives me something to look forward to!
I tripped over oDesk http://www.odesk.com when I was thinking I wanted to contract myself out. Instead, I found that website projects I had shelved because of data entry burdens could be revisited. Tons of people, both domestic and international, available to help out. And how cool is it that as the ‘hirer’ you can monitor their progress with screenshots of the contractor’s live, working screen. Just like peeking over their shoulder…
Hi Brett — My pleasure for the words
And thanks for the encouragement to pass on things like cleaning and detailing the cars? It’s difficult to shake the idea that I’m home, so I should be doing all the cleaning—forgetting that I do work full-time, I just happen to work from home.
It makes total sense that you six would have someone to help with house maintenance…you’ve got 4 kids and some guy walking around in muddy bare feet
It’s just the two of us with the cat, and I’m fascinated at how we quickly we can fill a trash can, make a sink of dirty dishes, and pile up magazines. It will be great to have someone clean the place, then I’ll only need to tidy…
How did you figure out your personal “hourly rate”?
Hi Kelly — Thanks for the comment!
Yup, late nights are a sign…for me it’s missed meals. I love to eat, so if I’m busy enough to work through lunch, something’s gotta go. I’m not in an office anymore, but I still work like I am. Bad habits die hard, and I’m apparently Teflon-coated when it comes to getting good habits to stick ;P
I started truly appreciating specialists when my hair stylist showed me the difference between her curling tongs, flat irons, and scissors and the stuff I would buy at Target or a hair supply store. Professional tools in the hands of a professional give top-class results we simply can’t reproduce. If someone needs a license for their profession, it’s 99% guaranteed we’re not going to be able to top their results without a heckuvalot of practice!
Thanks again!
Hi Sterling! I’m glad the series has something for you
And you’re right about personal energy level. Even little things can drain us, or maybe it’s especially the little things? One thing that’s made a huge difference for me is electronic billing for my utilities and such. Not having stacks of envelopes around makes a sweet difference. I thought paying bills online was a big step, but full cycle paperless billing is far lovelier.
And your cage match post doesn’t leave any room for excuses! lol Now that I’ve read it, I can’t go back to how I was…not completely anyway, and not with ease. I didn’t get 100% motivated overnight, but I don’t have any patience for my inertia moments and I’m more and more uncomfortable with them. Change is arriving
The “right now” aspect wasn’t intended, but what a great idea for a post, or series of posts? “Ecommerce Right Now”, “Online Conferencing Right Now”… hmmm
Aiming for unstoppable!
Crystal
ps your new blog theme is nifty
@Crystal,
I cheated (sort of) as I know where to find the sheets that list what my company charges external clients for my services. And then, I had found a freelance rate calculator somewhere online (I’ll find it again for you) - they were pretty close.
Brett
Recent blog post from Brett Legree: my hero.
@Brett — Ahhh, okay! Well, I know what my external billing rate was many moons ago. I’ll work up from there to see what the number should be now…
Thanks!
Hey all, a really good resource on delegating for small businesses and solopreneurs: Becky McCray’s post:
10 Ways to Delegate Without Hiring Staff
[...] Part 1: Be a Tollbooth on the Information Highway Part 2: Big-Ticket VIP Access for a Few Part 3: Get a Life With Automation and Delegation [...]